The general purpose computer was developed by at least the 1940s as the ENIAC machine at the University of Illinois. Numerous developments lead to semiconductor-based computers, then central-processing units (CPUs) on a chip such as the early Intel 4040 or the more recent Intel 486, Motorola 68040, AMD 29000, and many other CPUs. A general purpose computer is designed to implement instructions one at a time according to a program loaded into the CPU or, more often, available in connected memory, usually some form of random access memory (RAM).
A circuit specifically designed to process selected inputs and outputs can be designed to be much faster than a general purpose computer when processing the same inputs and outputs. Many products made today include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which is optimized for a particular application. Such a circuit cannot be used for other applications, however, and it requires considerable expense and effort to design and build an ASIC.
To design a typical ASIC, an engineer begins with a specification which includes what the circuit should do, what I/O is available and what processing is required. An engineer must develop a design, program, flow chart, or logic flow and then design a circuit to implement the specification. This typically involves (1) analyzing the internal logic of the design, (2) converting the logic to Boolean functions which can be implemented in hardware logic blocks, (3) developing a schematic diagram and net list to configure and connect the logic blocks, then (4) implementing the circuit. There are a number of computerized tools available to assist an engineer with this process, including simulation of portions or all of a design, designing and checking schematics and netlists, and laying out the final ASIC, typically a VLSI device. Finally, a semiconductor device is created and the part can be tested. If the part does not perform as expected or if the specification changes, some or all of this process must be repeated and a new, revised ASIC must be designed and created until an acceptable part can be made which meets or approximates the specification. The entire design process is very time consuming and requires the efforts of several engineers and assistants. It is difficult to predict exactly what the final part will do once it is finally manufactured and if the part does not perform as expected, a new part must be designed and manufactured, requiring more time, resources and money.
There are several alternatives to ASICs which may provide a solution when balancing cost, number of units to be made, performance, and other considerations. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are high density ASICs that provide a number of logic resources but are designed to be configurable by a user. FPGAs can be configured in a short amount of time and provide faster performance than a general purpose computer, although generally not as fast as a fully customized circuit, and are available at moderate cost. FPGAs can be manufactured in high volume, reducing cost, since each user can select a unique configuration to run on the standard FPGA. The configuration of a part can be changed repeatedly, allowing for minor or even total revisions and specification changes. Other advantages of a configurable, standard part are: faster time implement a specification and deliver a functional unit to market, lower inventory risks, easy design changes, faster delivery, and availability of second sources. The programmable nature of the FPGA allows a finished, commercial product to be revised in the field to incorporate improvements or enhancements to the specification or finished product.
A gate array allows higher gate densities than an FPGA plus custom circuit design options but requires that the user design a custom interconnection for the gate array and requires manufacturing a unique part and may require one or more revisions if the specification was not right or if it changes. The user must design or obtain masks for a small number of layers which are fabricated on top of a standard gate array. The cost is less than for fully custom ICs or standard cell devices.
One significant development in circuit design is a series of programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as the Xilinx XC3000 Logic Cell Array Family. Other manufacturers are beginning to make other programmable logic devices which offer similar resources and functionality. A typical device includes many configurable logic blocks (CLBs) each of which can be configured to apply selected Boolean functions to the available inputs and outputs. One type of CLB includes five logic inputs, a direct data-in line, clock lines, reset, and two outputs. The device also includes input/output blocks, each of which can be configured independently to be an input, an output, or a bidirectional channel with three-state control. Typically, each or even every pin on the device is connected to such an I/O block, allowing considerable flexibility. Finally, the device is rich in interconnect lines, allowing almost any two pins on the chip to be connected. Any of these lines can be connected elsewhere on the device, allowing significant flexibility. Modem devices such as the Xilinx XC 3000 series include the XC 3020 with 2000 gates through the XC 3090 9,000 gates. The XC 4000 series includes the XC 4020 with 20,000 gates.
To aid the designer, Xilinx can provide software to convert the output of a circuit simulator or schematic editor into Xilinx netlist file (XNF) commands which in turn can be loaded onto the FPGA to configure it. The typical input for the design is a schematic editor, including standard CAE software such as futureNet, Schema, OrCAD, VIEWlogic, Mentor or Valid. Xilinx provides programmable gate array libraries to permit design entry using Boolean equations or standard TTL functions. Xilinx design implementation software converts schematic netlists and Boolean equations into efficient designs for programmable gate arrays. Xilinx also provides verification tools to allow simulation, in-circuit design verification and testing on an actual, operating part.
There are several hardware description languages which can be used to design or configure PALs, PLAs or FPGAs. Two such languages are HDL and ABLE. Cross-compilers are available to convert PALASM, HDL or ABLE code into XNF or into code suitable for configuring other manufacturer's devices.
An enormous quantity of software is available today to nm on general purpose computers. Essentially all of that software was originally created in a high level language such as C, PASCAL, COBOL or FORTRAN. A compiler can translate instructions in a high level language into machine code that will run on a specified general purpose computer or class of computers. To date, no one has developed a method of translating software-oriented languages to run as a hardware configuration on an FPGA or in fact on any other hardware-based device.
Other recent products have been introduced by Aptix, Mentor Graphics and Quicktum. See Mohsen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,451 (assigned to Aptix Corporation), Butts, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,473 (assigned to Mentor Graphics Corporation), and Sample et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,353 (assigned to Quicktum Systems, Incorporated). These references provide background for the present invention and related technologies.
Others have attempted to partition logical functions over multiple PLDs but these efforts have not provided a true, full function implementation of algorithmic source code. McDermith et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,526 (assigned to Mine Incorporated), describe an automated system for partitioning a set of Boolean logic equations onto PLDs by comparing what resources are required to implement the logic equations with information on what PLD devices are commercially available that have the capability to implement the logic equations, then evaluating the cost of any optional solutions. The disclosure focuses on part selection and does not disclose how logic is actually to be partitioned across multiple devices.
A computer program typically includes data gathering, data comparison and data output steps, often with many branch points. The principles of programming are well known in the art. A programmer usually begins with a high level perspective on what a program should do and how it should execute the program. The programmer must consider what machine will run the program and how to convert the desired program from an idea in the programmer's head to a functional program running on the target machine. Ultimately, a typical program on a general purpose computer is written in or converted by a compiler to machine code.
A programmer will usually write in a high level language to facilitate organizing and coding the program. Using a high level language like the C language, a programmer can control almost any function of the computer. This control is limited, however, to operations accessible by the computer. In addition, the programmer must work within the constraints of the physical system and generally cannot add to, remove or alter the configuration of computer components, the resources available, how the resources are connected, or other physical attributes of the computer.
In contrast, a special purpose computer can be designed to provide specific results for a range of expected inputs. Examples include controllers for household appliances, automobile systems control, and sophisticated industrial applications. Many such special purpose computers are designed into a wide range of commercial products, generally based on an ASIC. Programming an ASIC begins with a high level description of the program, but the program must be implemented by selecting a series of gates and circuits to achieve the programmer's goals. This usually involves convening the high level description into a logical description which can be implemented in hardware. Many values are handled as specific signals which typically originate in one circuit then are carried by a "wire" to another circuit where the information will be used. A typical signal is created to provide for a single logical event or combination which may never or rarely occur in real life, but must be considered and provided for. Each such signal must be designed into the ASIC as one or several gates and connections. A complex program may require many such signals, and can consume a large portion of valuable, available circuit area and resources. A reconfigurable device could allocate resources for signals only as needed or when there is a high probability that the signal will be needed, dramatically reducing the resources that must be committed to a device.
Programming a typical ASIC circuit is not easy but there are many tools available to help a programmer design and implement a circuit. Most programmers use silicon compilers, computer assisted engineering tools to design schematics which will perform the desired functions. An ASIC must be built to be tested, although many parts can be simulated with some accuracy. Almost any ASIC design requires revisions, which means making more parts, which is time consuming and expensive. A reconfigurable equivalent part can be incorporated in a design, tested, and modified without no or minimal modifications to physical hardware, essentially eliminating manufacturing revision costs in designing special purpose computers. Current configurable devices, however, are severely limited in capacity and cannot be used for complex applications.
A part can be simulated in hardware using PLDs, described above in the background section. These, however, can only be effectively programmed using hardware description languages, which have many shortcomings. Until now, there has been no way to convert a program of any significant complexity from a high level software language like C to a direct hardware implementation.